Axillary arch of Langer: a rare variation

The axillary arch of Langer is the most common muscular variation in the axilla with frequency of 7% to 27%. Due to its frequency, clinicians should be aware of this variant because misidentifications can lead to wrong diagnosis and massive surgical complications, which could easily be avoided by intimate anatomical knowledge of the axillar region and its most frequent variants. A case of an “Axillary Arch of Langer” was reported on a routine Axillary lymphadenectomy procedure of breast carcinoma, which is originated from latissimus dorsi and inserted to biceps brachii. Since knowledge of the mentioned anomaly is important for surgeons to prevent attainable injury to axillary vessels and brachial plexuses, the embryological derivation and clinical significance of this muscle were discussed in this probe.